New Technicians Ready to Boost Fusion Energy Progress

A new cohort of technicians has graduated from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) apprenticeship program, the first registered apprenticeship program in the nation in fusion energy and engineering and a template for similar programs around the country. The distinguished audience included New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who joined the celebration at PPPL on April 27 to congratulate them.

"This is my favorite day of the year at PPPL," said PPPL Director Steven Cowley. "It's great to see the families of our apprentices here, our line of apprentices there and our graduating apprentices right here. Congratulations. We are unbelievably proud of you, and you've brought so much to our Lab. Thank you."

Conceived by Cowley as a way to bolster the technical skill necessary to bring commercial fusion to fruition, the first round of graduates completed the program in 2023. Standing out from other technical programs in part because of its focus on a world-changing mission, the PPPL program has since become a model for similar programs at other DOE Office of Science national laboratories, thanks to two investment rounds of $3 million from DOE. Managed by Apprenticeship Program Manager Diana Adel, the program also demonstrates the Lab's commitment to supporting a range of public-private partnerships and strengthening the pool of skilled technicians for a burgeoning fusion industry.

Apprenticeships at PPPL include a range of fields, from electrical and mechanical engineering to information technology (IT), cybersecurity and cryogenics. During the four-year program, participants complete up to 8,000 hours of paid, on-the-job training, which includes close contact with trainers who teach skills and mentors who focus on professional development. During this time, they have full-time employee status and receive hourly pay and benefits. The program covers the costs of tuition and learning materials, so apprentices graduate without debt.

Of the four graduates - Dennis Alvarado, Santos DeJesus Jr., Abigail Fellnor and Adam Martin - two already have full-time positions at PPPL. Alvarado has been hired as a junior systems administrator in the IT Department, while Fellnor has started her position as a power systems technician in the Engineering Directorate's power system group.

VIDEO: Learn about the program from several apprentices and their mentors

(Video credit: Michael Livingston / PPPL Communications Department)

Emceed by Andy Carpe, a 35-year veteran of the Lab who serves as the apprentice program technical administrator, the event also featured messages of congratulations from Peter Schiffer, Princeton University's vice president for PPPL; Michael Toth, contracting officer for PPPL at the DOE's Office of Science; Michael Blatt, New Jersey state director for the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship; and Linda Scherr, chief academic officer at the New Jersey Council of County Colleges.

Equipping the next generation of technicians with the skills necessary to help unlock fusion

In her address, Sherrill told the graduates they were not just getting on-the-job training but laying the foundation for a better future for their kids and grandkids. "You've put in the hard work to launch a career working on some of the most exciting problems in energy and earning a good paycheck that you can raise a family on," she said. "By working on fusion, you are becoming a part of history."

Sherrill remarked that the graduates are part of a surge in apprenticeship programs throughout New Jersey. "In the past eight years, New Jersey has registered more than 1,000 new apprenticeship programs, including this one right here, helping people to land good jobs and growing our economy," said Sherrill. "The Princeton Plasma Physics Lab has been on the cutting edge from the start, launching the first Ph.D. program in plasma physics in 1959 to advance research, and now pioneering this first apprenticeship in fusion energy to execute on that. You've made New Jersey the nation's leader in nuclear fusion. Now, I want to work with you to make us the nation's leader in workforce development as well. These jobs matter."

Apprentices can earn as they learn

The audience also heard from Kevin Jarvis, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Labor, who touted the many benefits of apprenticeship programs. "You receive a guaranteed paycheck and a wage increase as your skills grow; you get hands-on application of what you've learned in the classroom; and you come out the other side with a nationally recognized portable credential instead of student debt," he said. Jarvis also explained how these programs provide apprentices with a bridge from school to career, while allowing employers to train the apprentices with the skills and standards they need in new employees. "Apprenticeship reduces turnover, builds loyalty and strengthens the local talent pipeline," he said.

VIDEO: Diana Adel describes the apprenticeship program at PPPL

(Video credit: Michael Livingston / PPPL Communications Department)

The four graduates

Dennis Alvarado

Alvarado enrolled in the apprenticeship program as a way to transition out of a career in landscaping. "I started thinking that I wanted to do something with my brain and let my mind do the work, rather than just my hands and body," he said.

He had always been interested in technology, and while looking for jobs and internships in that field, he learned about PPPL's program and thought it fit him well. Since he had not yet learned the necessary skills, he was not yet able to join an organization and begin working right away. "The job posting for this opportunity indicated there was going to be shadowing and teaching, so it felt like the right environment for me, one in which I could really learn," he said.

Alvarado has transitioned to a full-time position as a junior systems administrator in IT. He plans to become involved in the Lab's high-performance computing efforts - "it's one of the closest ways you can support a scientist and the mission," he said.

Santos DeJesus Jr.

DeJesus began his career as a machinist by studying precision machine technology at Ocean County Vocational Technical School. One of his teachers there guided him to the PPPL program and even gave him an application.

He found the PPPL program valuable because he got a deep understanding of how to use the machinery, an experience he might not have gotten elsewhere. "Sometimes, you can join a shop as a machinist, and all you end up doing is pressing a button," he said. "It's better if you can be in a program in which you're actually learning." The PPPL program also gave him exposure to many types of equipment, including computer numerical control mills, lathes and water jets, as well as access to a mentor, which not all programs provide.

PPPL's status as a DOE national laboratory made the program special. "Working at a laboratory is different because there are so many different fields of work here, including technicians, engineers and scientists," he said.

Abigail Fellnor

As an apprentice, Fellnor valued being part of a legacy of PPPL machining. "I have actually replaced circuit boards my mentor installed decades ago with newer ones," she said. "He thought that was cool!"

As a recently hired power systems technician at PPPL, Fellnor helps maintain the motor generator set, a pair of 750-ton flywheels that store energy, and the field coil power conversion system, which transforms the energy obtained from the spinning flywheels to a form that can be used to power PPPL's National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U).

Fellnor says she would recommend the program to anyone considering it. "At PPPL, even if you're not working on NSTX-U, you're working toward making history," she said.

Adam Martin

Martin valued the PPPL experience because it gave him opportunities to learn a range of technical skills he might not have learned elsewhere. "If I had gone to a production machine shop, I would just be standing there putting materials into a machine, running the machine, waiting for it to stop, taking out the completed parts and then repeating that process for the rest of the day," he said. "But here, I do everything from lathe work to machining to making my own fixtures and programming."

Like DeJesus, Martin studied machining at the Ocean County Vocational Technical School and found that the apprenticeship program allowed him to take his skills to another level. "I like machining because you get to make something from nothing," he said. "You can make anything you want to make. If you can think it, you can make it."

PPPL apprenticeships support world-changing science

While giving apprentices the chance to explore a variety of topics within their fields, participating in the PPPL apprenticeship program also means being part of a larger endeavor that could impact society in a profoundly meaningful way. "Being an apprentice at PPPL is special," Alvarado said. "Being part of a larger mission makes you get up in the morning and want to come to work every day."